Megan Fox, Martha Stewart attend Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue launch

May 19 (UPI) -- Megan Fox and Martha Stewart walked the red carpet at the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue launch.

Fox, Stewart, Kim Petras and Brooks Nader, who were announced this week as the 2023 cover models, attended the issue's release party Thursday in New York City.

Fox, 37, an actress known for the Transformers film series, wore a black gown with a sheer midriff. Her fiancé, singer and rapper Machine Gun Kelly, joined her on the red carpet.

In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Fox said appearing on the cover of the SI Swimsuit issue was a longtime goal.

"I think it was probably too high of an aim when I was little to think of that," she said. "But I think just realizing, 'Wow, I've been doing this a long time. What would be really -- what's a bucket list goal? Like, as someone who's been in this industry for so long, and being on Sports Illustrated was definitely one of those."

Stewart, 81, a lifestyle guru, and Petras, 30, a singer-songwriter, posed for photos together on the red carpet. Stewart wore a gold gown with sequin detail, while Petras sported a strapless dress with a beach scene print.

Stewart is the oldest cover model in SI Swimsuit issue history. She reacted to criticism of her cover in an interview with Variety this week, denying that her photos were "over-retouched" or the result of plastic surgery.

"They are incredibly accurate pictures. I was really pleased that there was not much airbrushing," Stewart said.

"I've had absolutely no plastic surgery whatsoever," she added.

Nader, 26, a model, wore a blue dress to the release party.

"There is no theme [to this year's issue] -- rather, there is a vision, a sentiment, a hope that women can live in a world where they feel no limitations, internally or externally," SI Swimsuit editor-in-chief MJ Day previously said. "But the absence of a theme is not to say that [these women] don't share common traits. They're constantly evolving."